China spurs Nansha as Greater Bay Area’s third hub for innovations, finance, connectivity

China unveiled new measures to develop Nansha in the southern Guangdong province into a pilot zone for financial opening, making it the third financial hub in the Greater Bay Area after Qianhai and Hengqin, to deepen market ties with Hong Kong.

Nansha will become a hub for technological innovation and a node linking the Bay area and global financial markets, according to a statement on Monday by authorities including the People’s Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

“The announced measures further facilitate cross-border financing, settlements, futures trading and equity investments,” David Liao, co-CEO of Asia and the Middle East at HSBC, said in a statement. This allows Nansha to support companies in exploring overseas markets and creates new opportunities for international banks, he added.

Beijing unveiled its Greater Bay Area plan in 2019 to create an economic powerhouse by 2035. It refers to a scheme to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong – Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing – into an integrated economic and business hub.